Kane, Trossard produce stellar performances to lead team of the week
Leandro Trossard played a starring role as Arsenal continued their stellar campaign with a straightforward 3-0 win over Fulham.
Tottenham made up for what had been a torrid week thanks to Harry Kane who scored twice in a huge win to keep their top four hopes alive and Chelsea continued their recent strong form with a 3-1 win over Leicester.
Goalkeeper: Gavin Bazunu (Southampton) vs Man United
Bazunu reminded everyone of his potential with a man-of-the-match performance against Manchester United. He was a safe pair of hands as the Southampton defence faced endless pressure from the likes of Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes.
The 21-year-old made several saves to earn his relegation-threatened side a crucial point at Old Trafford.
Right back: Pedro Porro (Tottenham) vs Nottingham
Pedro Porro = all of us 🥰 pic.twitter.com/qEBWiTpzqk
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 11, 2023
Porro showed why Conte wanted him so much with a solid performance on the right for Spurs. He was a ball of energy throughout, winning five duels, making three key passes and contributing his first assist for the club with a superb cross for Harry Kane to open the scoring.
Centre back: Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth) vs Liverpool
The Argentine defender performed admirably in shutting down Liverpool’s attack for 90 minutes and was a crucial presence in the air. He barely put a foot wrong and was very attentive defensively to repel a free scoring Liverpool attack.
Centre back: Michael Keane (Everton) vs Brentford
Keane was outstanding in central defence alongside James Tarkowski as Everton shut down Brentford for 90 minutes.
Big shift at the back ⛔️
— Everton (@Everton) March 11, 2023
📲 @michaelkeane04 pic.twitter.com/2rAJzkwZMQ
Keane came out on top in an intense battle with the in-form Ivan Toney as he won numerous crucial headers and made vital clearances.
Left back: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) vs Leicester City
Ben Chilwell continued his impressive return to action scoring Chelsea’s opening goal with a brilliant volley against his former side.
Expertly done, Chilly! 😁 pic.twitter.com/bfgEfCXk36
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 11, 2023
Chilwell was energetic and masterful in a wing-back role that brings the best of his talent going forward as Chelsea continued their resurgence.
Midfield: Rodri (Manchester City) vs Crystal Palace
Rodri was once again at his dominant best as he ran the game for Man City from deep. He has arguably been the most consistent player on the City team this season and continued that form against Palace.
Rodri's game by numbers vs Crystal Palace:
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 11, 2023
◉ 112 touches (most)
◉ 92 passes attempted (most)
◉ 33 passes in final ⅓ (most)
◉ 16x possession won (most)
◉ 11 duels won (most)
◉ 4 dribbles completed (most)
◎ 3 tackles made
◎ 3 shots
◎ 0.2 xG
So good. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/tXTvo2hyhF
He led the game in touches, passes, dribbles, and both possession and duels won.
Midfield: Philip Billing (Bournemouth) vs Liverpool
Bournemouth defeated Liverpool by a single goal at the Vitality stadium to move off the bottom of the table. Billing scored the only goal of the game and hardly put a foot wrong throughout.
Philip Billing has scored six goals in the #PL this season, twice as many as he had in his previous three campaigns combined 👏#BOULIV pic.twitter.com/Ol5JiA8in0
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 12, 2023
Billing is Bournemouth’s top scorer this season with six goals and will be a huge reason the Cherries have any hope of avoiding the drop.
Right wing: Dango Outtara (Bournemouth) vs Liverpool
Outtara was at his menacing best against Liverpool with direct running that had the Liverpool defenders backtracking.
Having wasted a glorious early chance after rounding Alisson, the winger kept his cool to tee up Philip Billing’s winner as he breezed past Virgil van Dijk to make it three assists in seven Premier League appearances for Ouattara.
Left wing: Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) vs Fulham
Trossard continues his impressive start to life with Arsenal by bagging three assists to help his team defeat a tough Fulham side 3-0.
3+ - Leandro Trossard is the first player since Santi Cazorla in 2012-13 to record a hat-trick of goals and a hat-trick of assists in a single Premier League campaign.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 12, 2023
⚽️⚽️⚽️ vs Liverpool in October
🅰️🅰️🅰️ vs Fulham today
Trebles. pic.twitter.com/YRXUZu35eA
It’s now five assists in five league starts for Trossard since his switch from Brighton during the winter window, as he became the first player in Premier League history to provide three assists inside the opening 45 minutes of an away fixture.
Forward: Harry Kane (Tottenham) vs Nottingham
After a difficult week which effectively confirmed another season without silverware, Spurs responded with a comfortable win thanks to a Harry Kane brace.
Harry Kane has now scored 20+ Premier League goals in six different seasons:
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 11, 2023
◉ 2014/15 (21)
◉ 2015/16 (25)
◉ 2016/17 (29)
◉ 2017/18 (30)
◎ 2018/19 (17)
◎ 2019/20 (18)
◉ 2020/21 (23)
◎ 2021/22 (17)
◉ 2022/23
One-season-after-another wonder. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/qllpNlAj5m
Kane opened the scoring with a fine header from Pedro Porro’s cross, before scoring an emphatic penalty after Richarlison had been brought down inside the box.
Forward: Erling Haaland (Man City) vs Nottingham
Tonight’s match winner 💥@ErlingHaaland, take it away! 👇 pic.twitter.com/1AteEVfGkT
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 11, 2023
Haaland has been on a bit of a slow roll by his undeniably high standards but he played well against Palace and should have scored more than just the one goal. He did however take his penalty emphatically, sending the keeper the wrong way to take his tally to 28 league goals for the season.